Of the Aura
by Lixie Lorn
Summary: A girl leaves home, seeking the secrets of Aura, and whether it can be learnt by non Lucarios, or even by non-pokemon. Will she succeed? Find out. M for lemons eventually.
1. Prologue

_Yes, I've finally done it! Will contain lemons. Eventually. :)_

Disclaimer-I don't own pokemon. Yet. (Evil grin) Mental Note-Assassinate owner.

Of the Aura-Prologue

In Viridian city a small family lives. They're not part of some ancient cult, or the bringers of some devilish doom. They are regarded, correctly, as normal, if they do have one quirk; the entire family is obsessed with Lucario. The mother, Alice Jones, has a Lucario, name of Cari. The father, Charlie Jones, has a Lucario, name of Rica.  
The daughter doesn't have a Lucario, simply because they're very hard to get hold of. But she lives, thinks and breathes them. It probably doesn't help that she was named after one. Cassandra Cari Jones. She was seventeen, and had been planning something for a while now. She was of the opinion that Aura, the techniques of the Lucarios, was not something passed down genetically, but something that could be learnt by anyone of enough dedication. Cari and Rica didn't dispute this, but were unsure if it was possible for any other pokemon to learn it.

So imagine their surprise when she announced she was going to learn it herself.

Alice immediately asked her to change her mind, but failed. Despairing, she asked Rica and Cari to talk to her.

* * *

In Cari's room, later, the two Lucario knocked, and then entered.

"Cari!" said Rica, talking telepathically.  
"Yes? I suppose mum's asked you to talk to me." said the girl, looking up from a part packed bag.  
"Yes, actually." said Rica, not showing surprise. "She doesn't think you should go. She only wants to keep you here, and I think you should choose whether to go or not. But there are other reasons she doesn't know."

Cari raised her eyebrows.

"For a start, to be in touch with the aura you need to feel its touch on your skin. I expect the first thing the Lucario will tell you to do is remove your clothes." he said.  
"Really? Not just some story made up to scare me?" asked Cari, sceptically.  
"I expect so. And not all Lucario are the honourable knights people think of. In the wild, they can be every bit as bad as humans."

There was a pause.

"So I'm in no more danger than normally, then."

Rica sighed.

"There is absolutely no guarantee that what you are trying to attempt is even possible." argued Rica.  
"But no guarantee that it isn't." she countered.

"Cari." said the girls namesake, who had until now been quiet. "You're mother doesn't think you'll be safe. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Cari thought for a moment.  
"Yes."

Rica rubbed his temples.  
"You know that the Lucario will be hard to find?"  
"Yes."  
"You understand that they may try to take advantage, and you will not be able to stop them?"  
"Yes."  
"You realise that this could all end in failure?"  
"Yes."

There was silence.

"Alright." said Rica. "I see your mind is set on this."  
He took a piece of paper from on her desk, and laid it flat. He put a palm onto it, and there was a flare of bright aura, and complicated patterns were burnt into it, with more detail than any normal map could have.

"This is a map of the Silver Mountains, along with the locations of all the Lucario tribes I know of." he said. Rica gave it to her. "Good luck. I will tell your mother that you will be fine. Do not make me a liar." he said.

The two pokemon left.

* * *

"Are you sure you won't stay? Or at least take Rica with you?" asked Alice.  
"Yes, mum. I'm sure."  
"You'll be alright?" she said.  
Cari thought about what Rica had told her.  
"I'll be fine." she said.

"Cari?" said Charlie.  
"Yes?"

Charlie looked at Rica, who picked up a brick, lying in the front garden since a wall had been taken down, and threw it into the air, where a blue-green sphere of aura turned it to dust.  
"When you come back, you'll be able to do that, right?" he asked.  
Cari hugged him.  
"I promise, dad."

* * *

_Just a prologue. Review, please._


	2. Start at the Bottom

_And the actual first chapter. Be afraid. :)_

Disclaimer-Don't own pokemon, own plot and characters. Read now.

Of the Aura-Start at the Bottom

Cari sighed. She knew she should have checked the contour lines on that map better, but it was just one thick line.

She looked up at the cliff face in front of her.  
"Oo-kay. I think I brought climbing equipment…" she said.  
"Or not. No way." she said, thinking. If she fell from that…

She checked the map again. There was a way round, but it would take ages... She'd already been out here for days, and carrying a bag almost as big as her did not help.

She looked at the map again.

To her left, the thick line separated out into smaller ones, just for a tiny space. To scale, it was probably about fifty metres across, and a mile or so away.

Cari sighed, and started walking along the bottom of the cliff.

* * *

She stood before the anomaly. It wasn't particularly promising. It was a lot less steep, maybe an eighty degree slope. If you fell you could probably stop yourself.

She stopped. Was she really so impatient that she'd climb a dangerous cliffside rather than waste a day or so?

After some deliberation, she reached for the first handhold.

* * *

"I hate climbing." thought Cari aloud. She'd got maybe halfway up, and found a cave. It had been dark for maybe a quarter of an hour by then.  
Cari had been climbing before, but never on a real cliff. And never without safety lines. And never on her own… she really had no idea why she'd done it.

But she had to admit, she felt proud at managing it.

Only halfway to go…

…come the morning, Cari had managed to sleep a little. She woke up when the sun started to shine in. Probably about seven am.

She groaned. This was waaay earlier than she wanted to be awake.

Oh well.

Better get going.

She opened the bag she had, packing away her things back into it, and taking out some chocolate. She'd read somewhere, once, that chocolate is great to eat when you're working hard.

Doesn't sound right, but hey, any excuse to eat chocolate.

* * *

She had almost reached the top of the cliff. That was the worst part. One handhold away from the top.

She missed it, and screamed.

A hand caught her. No, not a hand, a paw. A blue paw.

It pulled her up, onto the top of the cliff.

"Who are you?" said the Lucario.  
"I'm… Cari." she said, slightly out of breath.  
"Ruca." he said. "Why are you here?"

"Well… I've been looking for a Lucario clan." she said. "I want to find out if it's possible for a human to learn how to use Aura."

He stared at her, with unfathomable blue eyes.

"It might be possible. I would be interested to find out if it is."

She bowed slightly.

"Do you know anyone who could teach me?"  
"I would be honoured if you would consider me." said Ruca, returning the bow. "I am considered a good teacher amongst my clan."

"I thank you." she said. "It is very kind of you."  
"Not at all. This will make legends." he said.

"What do you want me to do first?" she asked, eager to get started.  
"To get the most exposure to aura, you need to have your skin open to the air." he said, gently.  
Cari sighed.  
_And_ _I thought Rica was just trying to scare me._

_Yep. That's the first actual chapter. Cari has found a coach! Will she succeed? Find out-next time._


End file.
